"Does Windows Phone need Google and its services to be successful? No. The fate of Windows Phone and its adoption in the marketplace does not rest in the hands of Google. Microsoft itself holds the key to Windows Phone becoming a successful platform, rapid evolution of its cloud services and integration with the rest of the MS eco system." Good editorial on Google killing AES support for consumers and how it affects Windows Phone, by WPCentral's Robert Brand.

PCs also improved that fast, for a few years a decade ago ...they are simply good enough now.

Wintel PCs, thanks to their economies of scale, brought us inexpensive & powerful machines (suitable for a nice *nix workstation, for example), thankfully killed the mess with sub-par 80s micros & their stagnation (think about it, C64 was produced for a decade; Amiga also didn't really manage to move beyond 500-generation). And as to why Wintel... we didn't really have better options back then ( http://www.osnews.com/thread?522221 ); at least now it's a bit different, MS should still be the 3rd.